. complete bay area news coverage starts right now. this is ktvu, channel 2 news at 10:00. >> japanese helicopter pilots dumped sea water on damaged nuclear reactors to try to prevent meltdowns as u.s. experts issue an a.m. now warning. >> good evening i'm julie haener. >> and i'm frank somerville. japanese helicopter pilots are trying to fight the meltdown. sea water is being dumped on to the spent fuel rods in order to

reduce the radiation exposure. nuclear reactors need a constant source of cooling water. officials in japan hope the helicopter bucket brigade can keep the reactors from overheating while the plant operators scramble to install a power line and use electricity to restore the reactor's cooling systems. now, less than an hour ago, word came that the united states will start evacuating americans from japan, including private citizens and the families of u.s. personnel. president obama informed japan's prime minister of the plans tonight. the obama administration is chartering aircraft to accommodate americans who want to leave. also today the chairman of the u.s. regulatory commission says radiation near the fukushima plant is extremely high and damage at one reactor and worse than the japanese officials have acknowledged. >> and janna katsuyama just returned hours ago from tokyo. she is here now live. but how are the people feeling there now? >> well, it is a difficult

situation there. walking through tokyo, the trains and the stations and the airport, there wasn't really any signs of panic or chaos. but we did find many foreigners quietly leaving. driving from tokyo to hanita airport, there was hardly any traffic. gas is in short supply. and our tax driver told me how each fill-up is limited now to 20 litres, just 5.2-gallons. no telling, he says, how much gas he will be able to get tomorrow to make his living. deliveries are delayed leaving many stores with empty shelves. at hanita airport some elevators were shut down along with the electric walkways due to the nation's pour shortage. we found people trying to fly out of japan, including bay area residents who were there for the quake. >> we were supposed to stay on friday. the meetings on thursday and friday were both cancelled. >> we also really weren't sure what was going on with the nuclear situation and wanted to

leave the country and be completely out of the way if anything was worse is we weren't around for it. are. >> reporter: this woman from japan says it is so surprising she never imagined it would be this terrible. >> we did detect radiation down there. >> reporter: jack bacon is going home to reno, stationed at the u.s. navy base about 150 miles from the fukushia nuclear plant. >> i can't say too much because of operational security. are. >> reporter: right. >> but the stress level was pretty high. >> reporter: and we understand that the u.s. military has put some e-mail restrictions in place. of course there is great concern for those on the ussregan which was briefly exposed to radiation earlier this week. so a lot of things going on in that region and it is changing by the minute. three disasters all at once and so much uncertainty right now. how are the people dealing with if -- it? >> it is heartbreaking to see how people are getting through this. they are hoping that the

nuclear crisis will be solved so they can get more aid to the evacuees and begin the longer step of rebuilding. >> it will take a longer time. janna katsuyama, thank you very much. >> the u.s. is handing out iodine pills to anybody exposed to radiation in japan. when planes and helicopters returned from delivering supplies to the quake and tsunami zone they are getting checked for radiation. they are testing the crews as well as the aircraft at an airport south of tokyo. even though hope is fading, search and rescue teams from all over the world are still trying to find survivors where that tsunami hit last friday. one british team came across a man who indicated that some of his family might be trapped in what had been their home. the team crawled over the wreckage looking for any signs of life. >> we are trying to access underneath, but obviously as you can see, it is very, very difficult conditions. the chance of survival is small. but we will really do our best to see if we can find anybody in there. >> in the end they did not find anyone alive. and another japanese search

team was able to recover a body, bringing an answer to that individual's family. unfortunately it wasn't the answer they were hoping for. >> u.s. officials say at this point they are not concerned about the health risks from radiation here on the west coast. however, more radiation detectors are being set up around the bay area. tonight ktvu is at the university of california at berkeley as professor in the nuclear engineering department is installing a roof-top device to monitor the amount of radioactive material in the air. the epa is installing some 40 additional radiation monitors on the coast. there are some 25 real-time monitoring devices checking the air for environmental radiation radiation. later tonight, new questions about safety and procedures at california's nuclear reactors. but california's u.s. senators are both asking for is coming up at 10:45. our coverage also continues with the cumulative effect of four down days on wall street.

plus concerns about the safety of our food. what comes from japan and what's being done to keep it safe. those stories at 10:30. pg&e is facing fines up to $1 million a day for failing to turn over key safety records. as we reported last night, the utility did deliver thousands of documents to the california public utilities commission yesterday, requested as a result of the sanbruno explosion. but the commission said pg&e did not produce records for pipelines under some of the largest cities. orange lines that you see there on the pg&e map of san francisco represent some of those missing safety records. this next story you will see only on 2. police say they are one step closer to stopping a bay area crime wave involving thieves who target storage lockers. ktvu's amber lee is live now in san francisco with surveillance video of a woman who police say is the ring leader. amber? >> reporter: julie, these burglars have broken into 11 storage lockers here at public

storage on marin street. tonight investigators shared us with surveillance footage of the woman who they say is the ring leader. there goes our suspect. >> reporter: police say this video shows the woman running away when she saw officers searching a storage looker she rented to stash items stolen from other people's lockers. among the 135 stolen items recovered by the police, a lithograph and a china cabinet belonging to a san francisco woman who asked us not to identify her. >> frustration, anger, worry because we weren't sure what was in there that we had put in there. trying to remember everything that we had put inside. >> reporter: investigators say they know who they are looking for. a 36-year-old with ties to san pablo but no known address. >> her mo is simply to go and rent a place, identify other units in the building and then burglar eyes those. she therefore then takes that out and it is not going to raise any suspicion when you see somebody who has a lawful right to be there. >> reporter: investigators say

the break in the case came when daly city police arrested the woman at the alpine inn near the cow palace on an unrelated matter last month and discovered 100 stolen items in the room. but the woman was released from jail in daly san francisco. and now the san francisco police are looking for her and several male accomplices. police declined to release her name. investigators are still trying to determine where else the burglars have committed crimes. >> possibly the ring even extends as far down south as la or up to sacramento. >> reporter: the burglary victim we spoke with said police recovered most of her items. >> we were really lucky. we went and bought lotto tickets. we didn't win. but after that we felt really lucky. >> reporter: police are urging people not to put expensive items in storing and to rent space from places with surveillance cameras. reporting live in san francisco, amber lee, ktvu, channel 2 news. in san jose, police are investigating a shooting just outside a mcdonalds restaurant that happened in broad daylight

and left the victim in critical condition. the restaurant is located on south basicin avenue across from santa clara medical center. police say the shooter walked up to a man and shot him in the head at point blank range just after noon today. the gunman then took off running south along baskin avenue. the man is believed to be in his 20s. no word on the gunman. he is at large tonight. the governor is not going to use the police station to find under documented immigration residents. >> he could lay-off 300 officers and he has to focus on other priorities. he also called the issue of immigration enforcement a wedge between police and the community. after three rounds of layoffs, the city council voted tonight to close one of two fire stations. ktvu's heather holmes joins us

now. she is there where police are concerned about public safety. >> reporter: yes, julie, they are concerned because come july 1st this will be their only fire station in operation. a closed sign was up today outside fire station 74 in the wooded pinol valley. they are also shut ten days a month because of budget cuts but will close permanently after tonight's vote. things will get really bad. >> reporter: they need to cut $1.5 million from its budget. closing the station will save nearly $900,000. >> they could be waiting for an additional six to seven minutes for a fire engine. >> reporter: but the fire chief warns the move could cost lives and property. this man hates to think of what might have happened if firefighters didn't arrive when they did after a small fire broke out in his kitchen. >> a neighbor across the street started banging on my door. i guess i must have sort of dosed off. and they called them and they came right away. so i really appreciate that

they are here. >> it is very painful. nobody wants to close a fire station. >> reporter: the city manager says 45 employees have already been laid off and more than $4 million cut from the budget over the passed three fiscal years. but it is just not enough to make up for lost property and sales tax revenues. and as she watched the budget negotiations in sacramento tonight, she fears another financial blow if lawmakers vote to eliminate redevelopment funds. >> you know, when you play chess there is check. we are in check right now and the blow with redevelopment is checkmate. >> reporter: now, julie, no firefighters are expected to be laid off. instead they will be moved here to this station. the city council though did vote not to fill two vacant police positions. reporting live here in pinole, i'm heather holmes, ktvu, channel 2 news. highway lands closed. dramatic pictures just into the channel 2 newsroom of a precarious situation on the

central coast. we will have the late details right up after the break. they are running out of phone numbers in the south bay. so the plan is let's add another area code. [ music ] it is clear and dry here in lake county tonight. still, there was a big effort to prevent some homes from being flooded. we will have a live report. [ music ] . ktvu, channel 2 news morning news, local news from overnight. >> contra costa fire investigators are still on the job. >> the bay area's major news of the day. live drive-time traffic. and weather in the area where you live. dave clark, pam cook, ktvu, channel 2 news in the morning weekdays starting at 4:30 a.m. complete bay area news coverage.

. a section of highway 1 near big surr is closed tonight

because part of the roadway has fallen into the pacific ocean. we have new video tonight. the highway patrol says a 40- foot long section of road gave way. both north and southbound lanes of highway 1 are now closed near hurricane point north of big surr. the first reports came in shortly after 5 a.m. caltrans crews are still not allowed in yet because it is still too dangerous. it could be days before highway 1 will be able to open. residents are breathing easier after a crumbling levee threatened to flood a dozen small farms and ranches. the community of upper lake was saved by late work. what the crews did to stop the flooding there is ken wayne. are. >> reporter: three days of back- breaking work and the work isn't over yet. but they have managed to stop the flow of water and save a dozen homes.

>> 40 inmates packed sandbags today to shore up this leaking earthen levee at the north end of clear lake. on the other side of the levee several homes are scattered near the wet land. among the homeowners, marcia roonie hose family jumped in to help. >> i called my husband and my son and the rest of the few of us who still out here and all hands on deck in order to do the levee patrols and dow what we need to do to save ourselves. >> come on sister. >> and save her animals. she was ready to load her goats and horses and other animals and drive them to higher ground but that wasn't necessary. >> there was some serious disintegration of the levee when the crews first got here and things like that. so we were able to kind of put a patch on it for the time being and contain it. >> reporter: the cause of the breach isn't yet known and water continues to boil through the earth. but officials say not enough to cause a failure. more than 10,000 sandbags have

been placed to form three containment walls in preparation for friday's in coming storm. marcia says the area flooded about 20 years ago. and the previous homeowner showed her what to expect. >> actually showed us the waterline inside of her house. and you take off the old sheetrock it it shows us where the waterline is. so all you have to do is stack everything higher than that and don't worry about it then. >> the cal fire hand crews will be back tomorrow to finish the temporary fix. officials say a permanent fix can't be done until this summer when the lake level at clear lake gets lower. live at lake county, ken wayne, ktvu, channel 2 news. just days before the federal trial of barry bonds is set to begin, prosecutors today released voicemail messages he left for his former girlfriend. most of the messages show bonds angrily demanding to know are the whereabouts of kimberly bell. prosecutors say their proof of steroid rage and hope to use them as evidence. bonds' attorney opposes them

and says angrylanguage between lovers is common. hotel workers picketed tonight outside san francisco's western st. francis hotel where former president bill clinton was speaking to former ican members the not-for profit organization that manages the domain system on the internet. >> members of unite here local ii have been working without a contract for the last 18 months. it is not clear if bill clinton was aware of the labor action outside the hotel. but his press secretary said he did, indeed, speak at the st. francis tonight. come april sales tax rates are set to go up at a number of california locations. here in the bay area the rate will go up in six cities but not the same amount in each one. you can see the new rates there on your screen. they will go into effect in these areas. the voters approved the increases in the november

elections. san jose residents wade in tonight on plans to add a new area code t comes down to numbers. there are 83 million assigned phone numbers in california for some 35 million people. we have more now in our continuing coverage of this story. ktvu's lloyd lacuesta tells us some people say it will be a hassle to add a new area code. he is live now with this story. lloyd? >> reporter: julie, with the explosive devices such as cell phone we are simply running out of numbers. so at san jose city council the public utilities commission held a hearing on adding a new area code to the south bay 669. >> getting everybody to change their numbers in a given area i feel like would be very challenging. >> reporter: what the puc has to decide is whether to establish area code 669 by geographically splitting present area code 408. or imposing an overlay. current phones would remain 408. all new lines would be 669.

an overlay would require callers to dial 1 and the area code even if the call is to a house right next door. >> always been the 408, you know. i have never known anything different. >> reporter: the owner of a pizza parlor worries what a new area code would mean to his business. >> our phones is ringing off the hook all of the time. and customers are confused as to what the area code is, you know, maybe they call a different restaurant or they just give up and don't even call us. >> reporter: a cell phone owner says a new area code doesn't affect them at all. >> i am a transplant here. so i don't even have a 408 area code. so it doesn't mean too much. i mean, unfortunately i grew up in ann harbor so i have an ann harbor area code. >> reporter: there are eight million phone numbers in the south bay. even though the largest city, san jose, has just one million people. 408 was established in 1959 when it split off from 415. the puc says a new area code

will happen. >> it is sort of a cache, you know, 408 is a high-tech area. you know, you are living with the cool people. but hey, 669 will be just equally as cool. [ laughter ] >> reporter: now, the final decision is expected before the end of the year. live and still 408 san jose, lloyd lacuesta, ktvu, channel 2 news. [ music ] and we're red -- heading for some more showers. didn't get them today. a few light ones this morning. as we roll towards friday more rain in the forecast. some clouds tomorrow and sun. friday heavy rain, gusting rain and low snow levels in the forecast. the story will be cooler overnight lows and some patchy valley fog in the north bay area. 41 in concord. cooler than it has been. mild overnight. so look for fog showing up in the north bay valley up around

napa. so patchy fog will burn off quickly whatever does form. just be ready for it in your morning commute. when i come back we will take a look at the friday forecast which includes that weather system. a pretty strong and cold one. there will be some wind and rain. we will be back here with all of that at about 10:45. >> a deal is close tonightto keep twitter from moving out of san francisco and instead remain in the city for six years. twitter has signed a letter of intent now to move into the old furniture mart at 9th and market streets to give it room to grow. in exchange, twitter wants a payroll tax exemption. the city has been trying to revitalize that section of market street now for years. and twitter could be and an chore for that revitalization. state employees are up in arms. why they are protesting and what an exclusive new ktvu field poll shows californians think about public tension. new concerns about radiation fears hitting here in the bay area. what we learned today about what some countries are doing to limit food imports from japan and what's being done

here. >> live drive-time traffic weekdays starting at 4 p.m. on ktvu, channel 2 news in the morning.

0. california's senior senator did diane finestein introduce add law that would repeal the federal law banning same-sex marriage. her bill called the respect for marriage act would repeal the federal defensive act also known as doma which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman. states are not obliged to recognize same-sex marriage from other states. finestein's move follows the obama decision to no longer defend the ban in court calling it unconstitutional. >> in sacramento lawmakers approved billions of dollars in cuts today in the governor's proposed budget. they approved massive cuts to state welfare programs including $1.7 from the welfare to work program, along with cuts to services for the developmentally disabled. the reductions are needed to help close a $26 billion

deficit. but so far, in the near chamber has voted on the centerpiece of governor brown's plan, a voter referendum in june to extend tax increases. >> and the regents warned of tuition increases. the ten campus system stands to lose $1 billion of its $3 billion in annual state funding. they also said the amount of any tuition or fee hikes would depend on the outcome of this voter referendum that the governor wants to put on the june ballot. >> many uc workers are up in arms about the university that is taking steps to cut their pay and trying to make their case to the public. an exclusive new ktvu field poll indicates the public may not be sync threat inning sympathetic. >> the regents met in san francisco and in berkeley and

were picketing. >> reporter: they say the university has failed to fully fund their pensions. and together with increases in worker healthcare premiums, employees could effectively take up to 10% in pay cuts. >> with the university going back to poverty we are going back to public services and we don't want that. >> reporter: patricia says she was only surviving because of the part-time job she just lost. >> i have to look for another one to make ends meet. like we are hanging by a thread. >> reporter: the workers say that many low-end wage earners take second jobs and are on food stamps and living in public housing. but californians don't think public employees are doing so bad for themselves. our exclusive new ktvu field poll shows that voters, 42%, think public pensions are too generous. while 50% say they would not take collective bargaining rights away from employees, it is clear that public workers have their work cut out for them. >> when i came here 15 years ago i was working 30% under the

market wages for the rest of the hospital in this area. this hospital base it does heart lung transplants and all of these really advanced surgeries, you work harder here. >> the worker's contract is still under negotiation. but the outlook for employees looks bleak. this is jim vargas, ktvu, channel 2 news. developing news right now. late details on a surfing accident this evening off of maverick. we will tell you what we have learned so far up next. also ahead traditional japanese drumming tonight at a school fundraiser for earthquake relief. why the students there feel a special can connection to japan. closed captioning for the 10:00 news is brought to you by mancini's sleepworld.

a a

. we're getting late word tonight of a surfing accident at the maverick surf spot that sent one man to the hospital in extremely serious condition. firefighters received a call at

10 minutes before 7 of an unconscious man at the beach at the end of west point avenue at principalston by the sea. the man was surfing when he wiped out and found unconscious by other surfers at the jetty wall. the man is visiting from out of state. a witness said the man was unresponsive when he was taken to the hospital in grave condition. back now to the increasingly dangerous situation at those japanese nuclear reactors. ktvu's health and science editor john fowler reports on dire new predictions from some experts. >> reporter: these dramatic close-ups show the damaged reactor units. and now for the first time, experts are mentioning the possibility of death as radiation doses accumulate. >> the ones that may die, maybe not immediately, are the 50 people that are working around the -- on the reactor. >> reporter: uc berkeley engineer o'lander says outside the plant there is still no

threat to help based on published radiation readings. also the head of the nuclear regulatory agency says all of the cooling water was gone from a storage pool at unit 4, raising the risk of fire spewing radiation, skyward. japanese emperor made a rare public speech. >> i am deeply concerned that the current nuclear plant situation is critical. >> reporter: people continue to stream out of there even beyond the evacuation zone. he says what ultimately may happen to the japanese reactors is what you see in this graphic of the core meltdown at three mile island. >> there was no melt-through of the pressure vessel, even though there was molten core down at the bottom. >> it's going to take days or maybe even weeks before we know. >> reporter: we've confirmed u.s. department of energy experts are in japan right now advising the japanese. and the lawrence livermore lab is tracking the radiation plume. but experts insist there is no risk to anyone in the u.s.

health and science editor john fowler, ktvu, channel 2 news. fear rattled investors and stocks fell sharply on wall street today as the deepening nuclear crisis in japan seemed to be on pretty much everyone's mind. the dow industrials fell 224 points today or 2%. the nasdaq was off 50 points, a drop of almost 2%. u.s. stocks have now tumbled into the negative territory for the year. the dow is down more than 400 points since friday or about 3.6 percent. the other two major indexes, the nasdaq and the s & p 500 have experienced similar drops. vallero energy can boost its exports of gas and diesel to japan if needed. they own and operate 14 petroleum refineries including one in benecia. with its west coast facilities they could easily respond to a need for fuel in japan. one concern for many people here in the u.s. is whether food imported from japan is

tough is a eat or -- safe to eat or has it been ex posted to harmful radiation. four% of our food supply comes from japan. >> in japan town at the market a few customers are starting to ask about the safety of some of the food imported from japan. >> people are worried about whether the products are going to be having radiation contamination at all. >> reporter: sarah sakamoto says many products here are made in the u.s. >> this is where all of our fish is. >> reporter: but fish and soy sauce and produce come from japan. >> this one is from japan. >> reporter: but she says not from the devastated northeast. the world health organization has said there is no evidence of contamination outside japan. dr. jane hightower is an internist in san francisco. and says it is not just the radiation but the tsunami that can harm the food chain. >> when you take all of human's waste, that means their houses, the toxic waste, their dumping grounds and throw it into the ocean and mix it up, you are

going to have some contamination. it is going to take us a while to figure out how much and how long it's going to stay. >> reporter: experts estimate most radiation exposure, 98%, is through dairy products. radiation from the ground goes into the grass that cows eat. four percent of the food imported to the u.s. comes from japan. most is seafood. a small amount is dairy, 1/10ths of one percent. they are waiting on word from vendors. >> they say they are stocked up for a few months so don't have to worry about any kind of shortage soon. >> reporter: it is too early for any kind of reports to arrive but the fda has screening tests in place. >> in san francisco tonight clairinton held a fundraiser tonight for the people of japan. they produced traditional tako drumming all part of a charity

pot luck dinner. they had have a special connection because of the japanese bling, bi-cultural program. >> the event tonight was put together very quickly. once we started seeing the images coming back from japan we realized we had to do something. >> generous donations poured in from parents, teachers and the students themselves. they haven't been added up just yet but the money will go to the northern japan earthquake relief fund. ktvu.com has more information on how you can help with the relief effort going on in japan. just look for the japan quake tab on our home page. >> star pucks may be buying pete's coffee. but starbucks may be seeking to buy pete's within the next couple of months. pete's loyalists who spoke to ktvu, channel 2 news didn't seem to like the idea. alfred pete the founder was reported to be the inspiration

for starbucks and was starbucks' original supplier of beans back in 1971. motorola said today it is launching a wifi only of its zoom tablet to compete with apple's popular ipad. the zoom will come with 32 gig gobytes and sell for $599 similar in price to the ipad. the new zoom tablet is expected to hit store shelves on march 27th. brutality and survival. an area woman is sharing her story of a brutal assault and her search for her attacker. i will be back in less than ten minutes. look at the computer model. there is another storm heading our way. it really will be around the weekend. so we will have details on that. >> and weighing radiation concerns against security concerns, congress takes up the issue of airport scanners. [ music ]

. in east oakland, residents met with mr. police officers who patrol their neighborhood. this is new video of a block party as the officers mingle with the people on east 27th street. residents from the oakland school district also attended which followed by a community walk. >> a gunman is at large following a deadly shooting in oakland this morning. police reported hearing

gunshots at 8:30 this morning at west street and 37th. when officers arrived they found a man who had been shot while sitting in his truck just outside his home. he was rushed toment -- the hospital but he was pronounced dead. the coroner plans to release the victim's identity tomorrow. ktvu news has obtained new surveillance video of a man linked to a shooting at a bar monday night. it shows people inside the bar diving for cover when at least two men opened cover outside the alton bar on 16th street. five men were wounded one of them critically. the gunmen are still at large and police say the shooting may be gang related. a woman from richmond came forward today with a horrific tale of brutality and her remarkable survival. lan tran says on february 5th a man she knew from the neighborhood came into her house on the 2300 block and beat her and choked her and split her throat before leaving her to die. she managed to crawl outside to get help. these are photos of tran in the

days following this that attack. she said at one point she thought she wasn't going to make it. >> so i said, today i will die. i am no more me. i think there is no more me. >> this is a police sketch of the man who attacked tran. he is said to be an african american man about five feet eight to six feet tall. police say he spoke frequently about his mother and that he is thought to have mental issues. in news of the world tonight, in libya rebels tried to holdback forces loyal to moammar gadhafi today at a key city in the eastern part of the country. and they complained about the lack of help from the west. moammar gadhafi's son says the rebels should be defeated within 48 hours. four journalists from the new york times were in an area of recent fighting are missing tonight. in pakistan, the american cia contractor raymond davis was released from prison today and immediately left the country. he was accused of killing two pakistani men. a lawyer for the family said

they were paying more than $2 million in blood money. it is common and legal in pakistan to compensate victim's families, but it is not clear who paid the money. and in the netherlands police say they have broken up one of the largest international pedophile rings ever. investigators say they rescued 230 children and arrested 184 suspects, including teachers and police officers. the ring operated online. officials say most of the suspects were involved in the sexual abuse of children and to a lesser extent, in child porn. a call for new inspections of california's two nuclear reactors. the potential new threat discovered next to one just this week. and chief meteorologist bill martin is tracking more rain in the forecast. when it will get here, plus the weekend ahead. [ music ]

. no word tonight on what caused a twin engine plane to crash in long beach this morning killing five people and injuring another. among the dead are two prominent long beach realtors and a bikeist advocate. airport officials say the beach craft king air turboprop had just taken off and was circling back towards the airport when it crashed. tonight both of california's senators are calling for new inspections of the state's nuclear power plants to make sure that they are safe in the event of a natural disaster. one is located near san luis obispo and the other towards san clement. mike mibach tells us this comes just days after it was discovered that one of the plants is virtually on top of a fault line. >> reporter: california's nuclear power plants. images near sacrament owe, the facility closed in 1989, officials say some nuclear fuel remains on site. >> there is a small amount of

radioactivity that's measurable immediately outside of the storage facility. >> reporter: south the diablo nuclear plant currently creates 45% of the state's power. it is partly surrounded by a protective tsunami wall. >> the intake where we do pull in ocean cooling water for the primary cooling of the plant is designed to withstand a tsunami up to 45 feet. >> reporter: this week a sighs message fault was detected just a half a mile from the nuclear plant. >> you've got to understand the fault was just discovered. >> reporter: the diablo plant's operating license has 12 years. >> pg&e has is it years to get this permit. typically it takes two years to go through the process. it really begs the question, why the rush, in light of the new fault that was just discovered and specially in light of what is happening in

japan today. >> reporter: some numbers for you, the u.s. has 104 operating reactors. 62 operating licences have been renewed. 0 have been denied by the u.s. nuclear regulatory commission. in san francisco, outside pg&e headquarters, mike mibach, ktvu, channel 2 news. san jose based adobe systems says it is working to mobilize assistance for some of its 300 employees in japan. a spokesperson told ktvu tonight some 288 of the company's workers are staying inside an office building in tokyo. apparently the transportation system there is so chaotic the workers have opted to stay in that building for the time being. adobe is trying to make sure that they have access to sufficient food and other basic supplies. a congressional hearing tonight has addressed concerns about radiation from airport scanners. some members of congress question whether the transportation security administration actually knows how much radiation is emitted by whole body scanners. the tsa insists there is no

problem. some argue the scanners are necessary because of the threat from terrorists. >> they are still determined to come after us. and i think, therefore, it's very important that we have in place systems that work. >> the tsa is currently asking congress for more money to deploy more scanners across the country. [ music ] and we've got some showers to talk about. we have got a break today. a bit of a break tomorrow. and then rain back in the forecast friday. clouds outside. and you can see what we have got. the line of showers and the line of clouds are heading out of the area. but off into the pacific. these clouds are going this way. off in the pacific we have a colder storm headed our way. that will get here on thursday night into friday. so in the meantime, we are in pretty good shape. the story tomorrow morning will be some patchy fog for your morning commute on thursday. real patchy. it will be dense in places, especially north and east bay. but it will be patchy at best and burn off quickly.

so clouds and sun tomorrow. i suspect tomorrow will be a lot like what we saw today between 11 and 3. you know, we had kind of hazy sunshine. friday, the clouds come in. the wind comes in. the snow levels drop. the pacific is active. that's all i can say. it's active. we have got one more coming in on friday. and then a skip on friday. and then, bang, we have another one coming in on sunday. that's how it looks right now. focus on the friday evening because -- event because it looks like it will be pretty wet. cloudy with north bay sprinkles as the system starts to move in as we mentioned. as we get into friday, early morning the rain starts in the north bay and spreads south throughout the day. the entire day friday showers overnight. a different kind of weather system. see some thunderstorms possible on saturday morning. maybe even friday afternoon. colder air. lower snow levels. might even see some snow on bay area peaks. the computer models like this, tomorrow morning nothing. as we go through time you see clouds start to thicken as the system gets closer. 6:00 tomorrow night. here we get into friday

morning. your morning commute looks pretty wet. a nice front here that will get you some rain usually and some heavy rain. it is quick and it is moving which is good. at lunchtime raining pretty much across the peninsula. san francisco. starting to rain in san jose at 1:00. 5:00 commute you see showers and what have you. mainly clearing out in the north bay. the mountains probably a winter storm. winter storm watch up there right now. we could easily get a winter storm warning by that time. saturday looks good. and then sunday another one tees up. a wet pattern. got it figured out saturday is your wet day. sunday is your wet day. that's how it looks right now. the forecast highs for tomorrow not a bad day. prepare for some more rain. not amazing stuff just persistent stuff. >> one after another. >> a lot of rain and a lot of snow. and a record year in someplaces so we are doing great. but it will be nice if we slowed down a little. >> exactly. >> thank you, bill. >> sure. >> live expectancy in the u.s. has hit an all-time high. according to the centers for disease control and prevention, it is now up to about 78 years

and two months for all americans born in 2009. for white men it's 75 years, seven months. for white women life expectancy is 80 years, six months. for african american men, life expectancy is 70 years, nine months. and for african american women, 77 years, four months. well, you might notice a lot more bald headed folks in the south bay in the comes -- coming days. tonight in sunnydale they held a head shaving event to raise money for cancer research. a volunteer-driven fundraising foundation donates money for research on childhood cancer. >> childhood cancer who haven't had a shot to live their life, we have to fight this thing. >> since 2007, it has raised $94 million with these head shaving events. well, up next, welcome back to earth. one astronaut returns in time to see his twin brother fly

into space. [ music ]

. three space travelers are back on earth tonight after spending five months at the international space station. they returned in the soyus capsule landing in khazikstan.

one was astronaut scott kelly, the twin brother of mark kelly, husband of wounded congresswoman gabrielle giffords. mark kelly is to fly the space shuttle endeavor's last mission next month. >> mark is off tonight. joe fonzi the cal bears making the best at the mit. >> so far you are right if you are playing basketball it doesn't matter which tournament it is good. mark currie dislocated his shoulder yesterday in practice. he finished as roy goes for the bears. he had 25 for the game. cal by two at the half after being up by 11. critical time here the bears up by one with less than a minute to play. camp knocks down the jumper. the bears win 77-74. they will play colorado in the next round. two ncaa tournament games slated tonight. usc the first pac 10 team in action. the virginia commonwealth stein

gets the roll. they go down 56-46. tonight's other game texas eliminated alabama state. usf is still playing in the ait after beating idaho 81-73. the dallas mavericks tied with the warriors for most of the evening tonight before flipping the switch late in the fourth quarter. dallas trailed by one point by 18 at one point, that is, trailed by 18. and then went on a 15-3 run late and snapped the ball around there. dirk with two of his 31 points. the kid is always in the middle of the action. chandler is on the receiving end of that one. dallas moves into a tie for the number two with a 112-106 win. i don't giants are a notch closer to opening day ready. tim lincecum against the chicago white sox. he struck out seven in five and a half innings. he allowed just one run. brandon belt had one.

one of belt's hit was this drive that demonstrated his opposite field power. the second homerun for belt. giants win 5-3. they have the best spring record in any make league team as of today. not that he is any kind of barometer of these things but the football player also known as chad is looking for employment. he has tried his kicking talents with the cincinnati bengals. chad says he started playing soccer at age 4 before concentrating on football in high school. patrick willis joins the pro rodeo circuit up next. just kidding. >> left a little too soon. >> i wasn't sure. >> all right. thanks, joe. >> thanks, joe. >> sure. >> the ktvu morning news begins at 4:30 in the morning. the latest on the efforts to get the nuclear reactor in japan under control. >> and as always our coverage continues online at ktvu.com. thank you very much for joining

us. have a good evening, everyone. >> good night. [ music ]